Out of the grasp of looters, a Roman soldier shares a shed with other statues removed from display in Rome’s Villa Borghese gardens. Since 1970 thieves have pilfered some 523,000 treasures in Italy. Trained “art police” have recovered about a third.
The villa was originally a simple vineyard, which was purchased by the Borghese family in 1580. In the early 1600s Cardinal Scipione Caffarelli Borghese, Pope Paul V's nephew, purchased surrounding lands. He began an ambitious building process that converted the simple vineyard into a sprawling, 200-acre (80-hectare) estate with a dozen buildings surrounded by gardens replete with statues and fountains.
—Text adapted from "Italy's Endangered Art," National Geographic magazine, August 1999
Often labeled as poor, rural, and beholden to the Mafia, Sicily insists that change has arrived. Explore this small Italian island—a unique world unto itself.
Lush mountains, turquoise waters and pastel island vistas await travelers on Italy's most scenic coastline. Take the Amalfi Coast drive and become immersed in the Mediterranean landscape.
An enclave of remarkable buildings and art surrounded by the city of Rome, Vatican City is the smallest sovereign nation in the world—and one of the most powerful.
Trapped in the myth of her beauty, Venice beguiles and remains elusive. See why this city has held such sway over artists and romantics for centuries in this gallery.
